Sunday, July 10, 2011

Arsenal To Try And Swoop Two Liverpool Targets

As Liverpool and Arsenal try to build championship winning sides, both clubs have become interested in Spanish starlet, Juan Mata. With the prospect of losing both Nasri and Fabregas, landing the midfielder would perhaps be more important for Arsenal. But, Arsene Wenger is adamant that the potential signing of Mata is not a replacement for Nasri.

Juan Mata, 23, shone at the U21 European Championships which were won comfortably in the end by the magicians of Spain and has been included in the transfer gossip section of virtually every paper on many occasions ever since.

Mata is currently playing with Valencia who have been forced to sell key players such as Davis Villa and David Silva due to financial difficulty and would be hesitant to now offload another young player with massive potential.

Offering Champions League football is not a problem at Valencia as they finished third last season, so a move to either Arsenal or Liverpool, would most likely be the result of the desire for a fresh challenge.

According to Sky Sports News, Arsenal might fight Liverpool for the signature of Stewart Downing as Arsenal have apparently put in a £18 million bid. If this turns out to be true, I certainly believe Villa should accept and take the money while they can.

I'm sure this news is satisfying for all Arsenal fans as the cry for new signings from them must have been heard by the Arsenal board.

It did look bleak for Arsenal as they were on the verge of losing two key players in Nasri and Fabregas but if they can keep hold of one and bag Downing and Mata, I think Arsenal have every chance in the world of staying into the top four next season.

So what do you make of this? Will Arsenal sign both Mata and Downing?

I would love to hear any comments you may have.

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Friday, July 8, 2011

Aston Villa Look To Sign N'Zogbia In Preparation Of Losing Dowing

Aston Villa are looking to buy Charles N'Zogbia off Wigan after Liverpool's interest for Downing showed no signs of dying down. Aston Villa have already rejected a £15 million bid from Liverpool but are bracing themselves for an improved offer of around £18 million in the next coming days. Aston Villa have come out and said that will not sell Downing for less than £19 million but we'll see what happens when £18 million is put in front of them.

With the prospect of losing two valuable widemen in Young and Downing, Aston Villa have decided to turn their attention on Charles N'Zogbia. I highly rate N'Zogbia and it would make perfect sense for Villa to buy the Frenchman, whether or not Downing is still at the club. N'Zogbia is one of those players that won't have a perfect game every week, but he can certainly make things happen.

Personally I believe it would be the right choice to sell Downing when Liverpool come in with a new and improved offer. Even if it doesn't meet their evaluation of the player, I certainly believe they will be getting value for money should they get £18 million or so.

The last thing Villa need is for Downing to be unsettled and unhappy should he still be at the club come the start of the season. Aston Villa fans aren't happy as it is with the arrival of Alex McLeish and I'm sure the selling of Ashley Young didn't please a few fans either. Surely, the thought that a player refuses to play in front  of the Villa Park faithful, when millions of pounds could have been gained from selling him, would only annoy the Villa fans even more.

With the money they got for the departure of Young plus the possible amount they could get for offloading Downing would give McLeish and Aston Villa vasts amount of money to spend on players that are just as valuable an asset.

So do you think Villa should sell Downing? Would N'Zogbia be a suitable replacement?

I would love to hear any comments you may have.

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Thursday, July 7, 2011

Sunderland Are Making The Most Of This Transfer Window

Sunderland today completed the signing of Irish international John O'Shea after he passed a medical and put pen to paper and signed a four year contract. They have now signed nine players over the course of this transfer window with all purchases looking likely to be very profitable.

Steve Bruce struggled last season as we neared the end of the season. This was largely due to the fact that a lot of his key players were injured and they simply didn't have any back up. The wild spending has probably occurred also because a lot of their players were loaned out to them from other clubs.

Steve Bruce has also claimed his second signing off United as he also bought Wes Brown. Both O'Shea and Brown were not first in the pecking order at Old Trafford and will be pretty confident that Steve Bruce will allow them to start week in, week out, should they prove they're worthy.

John O'Shea has often been credited, or maybe insulted, of being a utility player and has been played in many positions, even between the two sticks. He was once called "the Irish Swiss Army knife". There was a time where he would regularly start at right-back but since Rafael broke into the first team, he has been struggling to even come on as a substitute.

Wes Brown is the same, once a regular at right-back but injuries were to be his downfall. I think it is a great signing for Sunderland as before he became an unfamiliar face in the starting line up at Old Trafford, he showed he could play and was being placed in the England team on many occasions.

Other notable signings are Connor Wickham, formerly of Ipswich, who was hot property going into this transfer window. Seb Larsson and Craig Gardner are  Premiership players for me, and once Birmingham dropped down to the Championship, it was inevitable that they would be offloaded to a Premiership club. Yet again, these are two fantastic buys for Sunderland.

What do you make of the new arrivals to Sunderland? How well will they do next season?

I would love to hear any comments you may have.

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Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Adam To Arrive At Anfield

With all the hype surrounding Nasri and Fabregas in regards to which club they will be playing their trade with next season, it was easy to forget about the transfer saga regarding Charlie Adam's future. Well we were all reminded about it today as Liverpool and Blackpool have agreed a fee for the Scottish international to bring him to Anfield. Charlie Adam will now have a medical and if all goes well, no problems should occur.

Charlie Adam has been a target for Liverpool ever since he shot to fame playing with Blackpool last season. He, with no disrespect to any Blackpool player, carried their team to within minutes of avoiding relegation. Their is no doubt in my mind that he should be playing his football in the Premier League and I'm sure he will fit nicely in the Liverpool set up.

Liverpool are building a strong looking squad in preparations to reclaim fourth spot and see themselves playing European football once again. With the arrival of Henderson and now with Adam looking likely to join him, the competition to be starting in midfield will be fierce. To be honest, I can see players starting to strop should they be excluded from the starting eleven.

I worry for Liverpool's defence though and I do feel they should look to bring in a top quality defender, same with Arsenal. For me Johnson is slightly over-rated and talisman Jamie Carragher isn't getting any younger.

Their attacking line up is only bettered by very few, with Gerrard and Henderson in midfield. Also on top of that you have the, in-form, Suarez along side Andy Carroll. It does look like a frightening prospect when they do eventually meet the weaker teams but coming up against the likes of Man United and Chelsea, they could be vulnerable at the back.

Liverpool are showing no sign of stopping there either. The signature of Stuart Downing is another possibility but yet again another midfielder so I don't know if the plan is to play six or so in midfield but I'm sure "King Kenny" has thought it through.

What do you make of the recent signings that Liverpool have made? Will Adam be a success?

I would love to hear any comments you may have.

Check out www.footballscores.com today for all the latest scores, results and league tables.

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Real Madrid Get Their Hands On Coentrao And Are Favoruites To Bag Tevez

Real Madrid today sealed the signing of Fabio Coentrao from Benfica for a fee believed to be around the region of £27 million. Unknown to some, Coenrtrao is a Portuguese international and has been called one of the most promising left-backs and is still only 23 years of age.

If we are to believe everything we read, Chelsea were also hopeful on securing Coentrao's signature before the Spanish giants beat them to it. Although Ashley Cole is still 30, and defenders do last a while, he isn't getting any younger so I'm sure Chelsea would have wanted to get Coentrao while they could.

Real Madrid are now favourites with most bookies to land Man City's wantaway forward, Carlos Tevez. City have taken the news rather well, fans included, and have said that they will let him go just as long as a suitable offer comes in for him and surely Real Madrid would be the only team with enough money to fork out £50 million odd.

I'm sure Barcelona would relish the chance to have Tevez at the Nou Camp but I think it's clear that there sights are set firmly on the capturing of both Cesc Fabregas and the most sought after player at the moment, Alexis Sanchez.

Real Madrid have no dilemma when it comes to their options for strikers as they have an array of talent in their squad but Tevez has proven he is a prolific scorer at the highest level and I believe he could really do the business at the Bernabeu.

So what do you think about the signing of Coentrao and the prospect of Tevez joining Real Madrid?

I would love to hear any comments you may have.

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Monday, July 4, 2011

Tevez "I Want To Leave City This Summer"

On the day where things were looking good for all in connection to Manchester City, Tevez dropped  a  hammer blow for all City fans as he made it clear that his intentions are to leave the club this Summer in turn meaning he wants to pretty much leave the club as soon as he can.

This story has been going on for a while now, with Carlos Tevez adamant that he wishes to depart Eastlands and as we all know, his preferred destination is his home country of Argentina. Man City have stated that if Tevez fulfills his contract, in two years time he is allowed to leave on a free.

Mancini completed his first transfer of the Summer, and must have been ecstatic to have been able to get his hands on Clichy for a relatively cheap price of £7 million on a four year contract. The French left-back has been rated by many as one of the best in the Premier League and is still at a tender age of just 25.

Tevez, 27, wasn't an instant success as he was plagued by injuries but once he shook them off, he couldn't stop scoring and has been the most influential player at the City of Manchester Stadium in the past two seasons.

It would be a real shame, especially after helping City to their first top four finish, to see him just leave to play his trade in the relatively unknown league of Argentina. Of course, this is where many of the finest players learned how to play the beautiful game, Messi and Maradona amongst others. But the league isn't at the standard that most European leagues, especially the English one, are at.

His family is living in Argentina and Tevez has expressed his desire to move from England and has said, I'm sure on one occasion, that he doesn't like Manchester. I'm sure most City fans were expecting the inevitable that Tevez would eventually leave but it is quite soon.

If Tevez does get his wish, and does leave before the end of the Summer, then surely all eyes will turn in the direction of Roberto Mancini. The pressure would definitely be on him to splash the cash, and on someone as capable as Tevez. Mancini has been reluctant thus far to spend big but maybe he might have to.

What is your reaction to Tevez saying this? Will he leave?

I would love to hear any comments you may have.

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Friday, July 1, 2011

Real Madrid To Enter The Race To Sign Cesc Fabregas

Now out of all transfer sagas of the past few years, this one has been going on for the longest. But according to Sky Sports News, Real Madrid could put in a cheeky bid for Arsenal midfielder which would in turn defeat their closest rivals, Barcelona, in the race to sign the Spainiard.

Now we can't believe everything that Sky Sports report, as they do have a notorious history of making up rumors that would lead you believe that they were true or were valid statements but end up being very much less than 100% accurate. Most recently, the report regarding Samir Nasri's future. Sky Sports say that City are close to agreeing a fee for the Frenchman, while City themselves state that no contact has been made with any agents or Arsenal officials.

Should this be true though, this would be one of the strangest transfer rumor mills for some time as we all know by now that Barcelona have been interested in the playmaker for some time and for Real Madrid to come in and announce their interest would be quite the article.

Cesc Fabregas was an upcoming star at Barcelona until Arsenal snapped him up and raised him up to be the fantastic footballer he is today as he plays to the only way Arsene Wenger knows how, beautifully. Cesc Fabregas has been Mr. Reliable at the Emirates for quite some time now and when, and if, he leaves, there will be a huge gap to fill.

As we saw with Henry, when Barcelona purchased him from Arsenal, Arsenal fans were distraught. Because despite the fact that it was a long time coming, Arsenal fans surely knew that there was simply no chance of replacing him.

After sealing the goalscoring record at Highbury, his name would forever be synonymous with the Arsenal crowd. Although Adebayor was a hit, he is now hated by all associated with Arsenal and they simply can't find a suitable replacement who can fill the shoes of the Highbury legend.

Will Fabregas shock everyone and decide to stay? Who will Arsenal buy as a replacement?

I would love to hear any comments you may have.

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